Domestic gas meters are systematically replaced at regular intervals (every ten years, for example). Meter malfunction also may require meter replacement outside the regular replacement cycle. Systematic replacement or repair of domestic gas meters has always encountered the difficulty that gas service to the home whose meter was to be replaced had to be shut off. This necessitated entry into the home to relight the pilot burners of the various gas appliances, bleeding of interior gas lines where necessary, etc. Since access to the interior of the home was required, even where the meter itself was installed on the exterior of the home, temporary absence of the occupants required numerous call-backs delaying coverage of specific areas or blocks of homes.
While various attachments or fittings for removing and replacing gas meters are not unknown in the prior art, such devices invariably require modification of existing meters or a specialized configuration of the meter itself, solutions having obvious economic disadvantages for the gas utility company using this equipment. Another attempted solution to the problem has been the use of a by-pass meter bar which, by use of manual valves joined with the by-pass bar, can by-pass and isolate the gas meter temporarily so that it can be replaced without shutting off gas service. The inherent presence of a usable tap on the upstream side of the meter has the disadvantage for the gas utility company in that it is an invitation to surreptitious, wrongful use of unmetered gas.
The present invention provides an apparatus and method for removing and replacing domestic gas meters without interrupting the gas supply, and requiring no permanent alteration of the meter. The apparatus is of relatively simple construction and appreciably reduces the time necessary to perform the meter changing operation, requires no altering or permanent attachments to the gas meter and involves no taps in the service line upstream of the meter.